Saturday, June 26, and Sunday, June 27
Schwiebert Riverfront Park, 101 17th Street, Rock Island IL
Glorious colors and imaginative designs will be gracing the pavement of Rock Island's Schwiebert Riverfront Park in Quad City Arts' 2021 Chalk Art Fest, a June 26 and 27 weekend featuring live music, children's activities, food and drink vendors, and cash prizes, plus, eventually, the recognizable visage of rock legend David Bowie.
Inspiring and engaging for people of all ages, this free, two-day street painting festival brings together hundreds of local and regional artists that spend hours transforming the blank cement pavement into magnificent works of art, using only the medium of chalk. Visitors strolling by can see the wonderful works of art as they come to life, vote for their favorite, and even do some chalk art of their own by taking part in the collaborative community piece dedicated to rock, fashion, and art icon David Bowie. For a $5 donation, you’ll be given a set of pastels to fill in a two-foot by two-foot square of the larger image, and when finished, the larger image comes to life as a complete work of art. More than $1,600 in cash prizes and giveaways will be awarded in various categories including the people’s choice and youth category award, the latter of which gives students ages 12-17 the opportunity to compete for a $100 cash prize and $200 in art supplies for their respective school.
The chalk-art competition will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on June 26 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 27, with the awards ceremony scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. After an 11 a.m. set with DJ Mark Manuel of Alt 104.5/Kiss FM, Saturday's live-music lineup includes performances by Chrash at 1 p.m., The Textures at 3 p.m., and Doug Brundies' Big Acoustic Show at 5 p.m. On Sunday, live music will be contributed by Mo&Co at 11 a.m., the QC Rock Academy at 1 p.m., and Charlotte Boyer at 4 p.m., with the weekend's activities for children including face-painting on Saturday ($5 cash or Venmo only) and a kids' chalk zone on both days. Food vendors for the event include Westmoreland Concessions, Café Fresh, Cindy’s Shaved Ice, Here’s the Scoop, Quick E’s Tacos, Bent River Brewery, Broken Shovel Coffee, El Mariachi, and Kona Ice.
For more information on the 2021 Chalk Art Fest, call (309)793-1213 or visit QuadCityArts.com/chalk-art-fest.
